As the sketch of the proposed seven-foot monument shows, the
temple hopes to depict Satan as the goat-headed, Baphoment
figure, complete with a long beard, horns, wings, and Pentagram
design placed overhead. On both sides of Satan are smiling
children.

“The monument has been designed to reflect the views of
Satanists in Oklahoma City and beyond. The statue will serve as a
beacon calling for compassion and empathy among all living
creatures. The statue will also have a functional purpose as a
chair where people of all ages may sit on the lap of Satan for
inspiration and contemplation,” temple spokesman Lucien
Greaves said in a statement.

Ever since the Ten Commandments monument was authorized in 2012,
numerous groups have stated their desire to place statues of
their own, including a Hindu leader from Nevada, People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals, and the satirical Church of the
Flying Spaghetti Monster.

The Satanic Temple believes that it’s not right for Oklahoma to
place a monument to the Ten Commandments without offering other
groups the same opportunity. State lawmakers, on the other hand,
weren’t receptive to the temple’s new proposal.

"I think you've got to remember where you are. This is
Oklahoma, the middle of the heartland," Rep. Don Armes
(R-Faxon) told the Associated Press. "I think we need to be
tolerant of people who think different than us, but this is
Oklahoma, and that's not going to fly here."

“This is a faith-based nation and a faith-based state,”
Rep. Earl Sears (R-Bartlesville) said back in December. “I
think it is very offensive they would contemplate or even have
this kind of conversation.”

Since the surge of requests by other religious and advocacy
groups, the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission instated a
moratorium on new requests until a pending lawsuit is resolved.
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing in an attempt to
remove the Ten Commandments display altogether. Until then,
applications – such as the one by the Satanic Temple – can still
be submitted but a final decision won’t be rendered until later.

The temple has stated it’s already raised about half of the
$20,000 necessary to construct the monument, which it argues
would be constitutionally protected.

“Our monument celebrates an unwavering respect for the
Constitutional values of religious freedom and free expression,”
Greaves said, according to Raw Story. “Satanism is a fundamental
component at the genesis of American liberty. Medieval
witch-hunts taught us to adopt presumption of innocence, secular
law, and a more substantive burden of proof.

“Acknowledging wrongful persecutions has helped shape the
legal system that preserves the sovereignty of our skeptics,
heretics, and the misunderstood,” Greaves continued.
“This is to be a historical marker commemorating the
scapegoats, the marginalized, the demonized minority, and the
unjustly outcast.”